In response to the protest call by Federation of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (FAPUASA), almost all teachers associations of Sindh’s public sector universities observed Black Day in their respective campuses on Monday, suspending academic activities.
Supporting the protest call, a large number of teachers associated with Karachi University Teachers Society (KUTS) and NED Teachers Association (NETA) gathered at University of Karachi’s Arts Faculty and recorded their protest, wearing black armbands against the Sindh government interference in public sector universities.
The main entrance of Arts Faculty was decorated with banners and pamphlets demanding amendment in Universities’ Act 2013, so that university’s autonomy could not be violated in the future.
Addressing the protesting teachers, KUTS’s President Dr Shakeel Farooqi said that Sindh government is unable to understand that the teachers are the real stakeholders and that they are the ones who understand the autonomy of universities. He said since the inception of Pakistan, the universities’ act was protected so that higher educational institutions could be kept away from politics. He said the all public sector universities’ teachers were united and they would not allow government to appoint anyone through backdoors bypassing the rule and regulations.
On the occasion, NETA’s President Dr SM Usman Ali Shah said that Sindh government had breached the agreement time and again which was reached between FAPUASA and CM House’s secretariat last year. “It has created a situation of unrest among the teachers in all universities of Sindh”, he added. He said as per the agreement, Sindh government has to bring amendments to Universities’ Act 2013 which were suggested by FAPUASA but it has failed to do so since the last three years.”
KUTS’s General Secretary Moiz Khan said that Sindh government should fulfill their demands; otherwise, all associations would raise their voice against the injustice in the Nawabshah district of Sindh.
The protest call was announced by FAPUASA in Sindh, after the appointment of Pro-Vice Chancellor in the University of Sindh Jamshoro by Sindh government without taking the vice chancellor in confident a few days back and then Sindh’s all universities’ teachers association embraced the call and announced to observe black day.
The protesting teachers were carrying banners in their hands and marched in the campus shouting slogans against the Sindh government and demanded an end to the political involvement in the business of universities.
